Sustainable Communities
Develop your knowledge, skills and understanding of sustainable homes and communities through this 20-credit module.
Key facts
Overview
Sustainability is a key global challenge of our time. Develop your knowledge, skills and understanding of sustainable homes and communities through this 20-credit module. It will help you to connect global problems to local issues and better understand how individuals and organisations can contribute to sustainability goals. Through interactive online learning and teaching you will be encouraged to critically reflect on the challenges in delivering sustainable housing goals and learn from innovative exemplars and other areas of good practice. This is a key module for those working in front-line, strategic housing and support roles and assists Continuing Professional Development.
The UK housing sector needs qualified housing professionals to address a range of key challenges. Our online postgraduate programmes in Housing Studies can help you further your career with a professional qualification. Our modules are flexible and accessible, to support you to combine your studies alongside your other commitments.
Module HOUP002: Sustainable Communities introduces you to the key concepts, policies and principles central to delivering sustainable homes and communities. It encourages critical reflection on key concepts in sustainable development, place-making and community regeneration. In doing so it connects debates about sustainability to poverty and place, inequality, social disadvantage, housing management, neighbourhoods and the wider built environment.
Additionally, the module encourages learning from wider academic disciplines, critical discussion of good practice, analysis of different geographical locations and understanding of the connections between global problems and local solutions.
This module is relevant to professionals working across the housing sector and in allied professions.
Entrance requirements
A minimum of a second class honours degree (2.1 preferred) or equivalent. Applicants without these formal qualifications but with significant appropriate/relevant work/life experience are encouraged to apply.
English language requirements
If English is not your first language you must have one of the following qualifications as evidence of your English language skills:
- IELTS Academic or UKVI 6.5 with a minimum of 6.0 in each sub-skill.
- Pearson Test of English (Academic) 62 overall with 60 in each sub-skill.
- TOEFL exams taken before 21 January 2026: 88 overall with 20 in reading, 19 in writing, 19 in listening and 22 in speaking.
- TOEFL exams taken from 21 January 2026: 4.5 overall with no less than 4 in any band.
See our information on English language requirements for more details on the language tests we accept and options to waive these requirements.
Objectives
Sustainability is a critical aspect of both homes and communities. This 20 credit module introduces you to key topics:
- Housing development, design and construction.
- Housing quality and fuel-poverty.
- Building sustainable neighbourhood.
- Place-based inequality and stigma .
- Community regeneration, community empowerment and community asset-ownership.
Upon completing the module, you should be able to:
- critically appraise the concept of sustainability and how it applies to housing.
- evaluate the physical and social context for poor housing.
- assess the relationship between the built environment, housing management and the planning system.
- critically reflect on the scope of Scottish policy and practice towards sustainable housing to learn from practice elsewhere.
Structure and content
Over eight sessions this online module covers key topics relating to sustainable communities. This includes: sustainable homes design; an introduction to development, construction and planning; housing quality, retrofit & fuel poverty; building sustainable neighbourhoods; stigma and place-based inequality; and community-led development and regeneration.
Delivery and assessment
The module combines weekly online live lectures with guided discussion boards. This requires active engagement and discussion with peers. Students will also be provided with learning materials each week, which may include a mix of written, visual and audio materials to engage with. The module assessment is an asynchronous online test, plus formative reflective writing.
Module coordinator
Employability
This module is designed to support the Continuing Professional Development of those working in the sector, those looking to move into a career in housing and those interested in working in the field of sustainability. There will be opportunities to develop your professional knowledge, to network with other professionals from housing and relevant sectors, and to learn from good practice through case studies and guest lectures.
What next?
Contact us
If you have any questions about entry requirements for our continuing professional development and short courses, contact our Admissions team.
For all other questions, please use our enquiry form.